Home At 10713 St. John Ct.

[TAK]

www.har.com/5776233

OK, so I am not a modernist, I just like neat stuff. (I just used neat... wow.)

So, take a look at this place and let me know if you'd consider it "mod" or some other name. Some houses, I know would be considered mod. Some, like this one, I'm not so sure. I'm guessing that, by some strict definition, it's not. However, by the "Metropolitan Home" definition, it probably is. I go more by the Met Home definition of mod, and tend to like all the places that would fall into that more general bucket.

I've actually gone to look at this place (years ago). Other than the neighborhood, it looked like the house could be made into something nice with the right people working on it. If I were single, I'd take it on.

Thoughts on the house and the SW Fondren Northfield subdivision/area?

Thanks,

TK

http://harpictures.marketlinx.com/MediaDisplay/94/hr2016894-1.jpg

http://harpictures.marketlinx.com/MediaDisplay/94/hr2016894-2.jpg

http://harpictures.marketlinx.com/MediaDisplay/94/hr2016894-4.jpg

[mdadm]

I like it and from what I can see I would call it very modern. It is a later 1970s mod, and a little more time needs to pass before lots of people are ready to embrace a more recent vintage modern design like this!!! Of course, that is when you can buy at a low price. Talk about amazing square footage for the price! Wow. But, if the REALTOR says it needs alot of work, that tells you something. If the place was built by a decent builder who didn't cheap out on everything, I think the building itself might be worthwhile project...I don't know a thing about the neighborhood. Just my thoughts...

OK, so I am not a modernist, I just like neat stuff. (I just used neat... wow.)

So, take a look at this place and let me know if you'd consider it "mod" or some other name. Some houses, I know would be considered mod. Some, like this one, I'm not so sure. I'm guessing that, by some strict definition, it's not. However, by the "Metropolitan Home" definition, it probably is. I go more by the Met Home definition of mod, and tend to like all the places that would fall into that more general bucket.

I've actually gone to look at this place (years ago). Other than the neighborhood, it looked like the house could be made into something nice with the right people working on it. If I were single, I'd take it on.

Thoughts on the house and the SW Fondren Northfield subdivision/area?

Thanks,

TK

[flipper]

I can't believe the agent didn't even close the cabinets for the picture.

flipper

[marmer]

If this is the area I'm thinking of, I remember that it was full of this kind of house. My wife looked at one in the late 80's and it had a lot of neat features. We thought the neighborhood seemed a little sketchy back then. Still, the price per sq. foot looks amazing and some lucky person could really make this into something special.

[VicMan]

This house is zoned to, in Houston ISD:

* Milne ES

* Welch MS

* Sharpstown HS

[rps324]

I showed this house. It is huge, over 4000 sq ft I think. You can tell it was incredible when new. It is currently pretty much a train wreck & will need LOTS of work. The den downstairs is full of mold. The garage roof is flat and caving in on one spot, water is pooling there and dripping in at a steady pace. The "point" you see on the second floor in the front seems to have a bit of a sink in it. The finishes/cosmetics are questionable in a lot of places. But you also have stone walls in the dining room lots of vaulted ceilings, etc. Architecturally it is a very interesting house.

[sdmarc]

Cool house.

Appears the original owner was a local physician.

From the web: Dr. Gildenberg practices Neurosurgery in Houston, Texas. Dr. Gildenberg graduated from the Temple University School Of Med Philadelphia with an MD and has been in the profession for 48 years.

[gwilson]

Great house, needs a ton of work. But all the work in the world can't rescue it from being in Fondren SW (this and Alief are the areas that give the SW a bad name).

[Dan the Man]

Wow, this has "Oil Boom Era" written all over it! Awesome house, though...

[lgg]

I looked at that house with RPS, and I loved it. (I've been surprised by how much I like high-end '70s mods.) But the place was way more house than I need, and more than I could afford, given the work it needs. It was obviously maltreated a long time. The scariest thing was an Enormous Wall o' Mold -- probably from an old plumbing leak. I have no idea whether the mold had gotten into the structural members or the ducts.

A friend who's obsessed with real estate believes that the neighborhood, Fondren Southwest Northfield, is a fabulous bargain. I looked at police stats, and they confirmed what the neighborhood association's president told me: Northfield is fairly crime-free, or at least comparable to my current place in Montrose. But it's ringed by the most dangerous apartment complexes in Houston. The neighborhood has an active civic club, and its high dues help pay for constable street patrols in unmarked cars.

But another factor may be more important in stabilizing the neighborhood. Orthodox Jews began pouring into Northfield after the oil bust. The area has several Orthodox synagogues. Because the Lubavitchers don't drive on the Sabbath, they tend to cluster around the synagogues. On Saturday nights, you see whole families walking home from worship, the men in beards and broad-brimmed hats: A sweet, strange sight.

The Orthodox presence won't help much with schools. The HISD middle and high schools are appalling. And because Lubavitchers tend to send their kids to religious schools, the public schools won't get their upper-middle-class kids.

And for what it's worth: The Lubavitcher community is growing. Right now, they're expanding their Chabad Center, a very modern-looking building at 10900 Fondren:

http://www.chabadtexas.org/templates/artic...ng-Campaign.htm

[TAK]

when i looked at it a couple of years ago, i recall seeing quite a bit of Jewish influence in the neighborhood (from what I could read online.) I just don't know the area well. It seemed to be like where I live now. Nice in the houses, but not so much in the apartments surrounding the houses. i am a realtor (inactive) so i did go in and look at it a few years ago. i don't think it's been touched since then, and it need a lot of work when i was in it.

again, if i were single, i would make a super low offer on it and try to fix it up right.

i need a really good deal on a mod. not necessarily MCM (the pink and aqua just don't work for me...) but a modern structure that i can remuddle without angering the traditionalists too much.

[pganju]

I grew up in northfield in the 70's. I remember that house, alot of our old neighbors still live there. They don't complain about crime. The HOA is very active. Those were great houses. They were all unique.

[gildyrita]

Just want to let you know that this house belonged to my husband's family in the late 70's. The house was a real party house in those days according to him. It had problems when it was new-always leaked like a siv. I think that the builder had cut a few corners or didn't supervise very well with the building process. We can tell you more if you're still interested.

Good Luck!

Gildyrita

www.har.com/5776233

OK, so I am not a modernist, I just like neat stuff. (I just used neat... wow.)

So, take a look at this place and let me know if you'd consider it "mod" or some other name. Some houses, I know would be considered mod. Some, like this one, I'm not so sure. I'm guessing that, by some strict definition, it's not. However, by the "Metropolitan Home" definition, it probably is. I go more by the Met Home definition of mod, and tend to like all the places that would fall into that more general bucket.

I've actually gone to look at this place (years ago). Other than the neighborhood, it looked like the house could be made into something nice with the right people working on it. If I were single, I'd take it on.

Thoughts on the house and the SW Fondren Northfield subdivision/area?

Thanks,

TK